The NHL playoffs schedule and standings had the Boston Bruins and Montreal Canadiens as the first teams to advance to the second round and fittingly they will play each other in the next series for both teams, while the Chicago Blackhawks were the first to make it into the second and advance from the west and they are awaiting the winner of the Colorado Avalanche and Minnesota Wild series.
The Boston Bruins and Chicago Blackhawks advanced in similar fashion, as they each won four games in a row to complete their series and that came after losing in Game 1. The Hawks actually lost the first two games on the road before rebounding in Chicago and then the team won again in St. Louis and that allowed the defending Stanley Cup champions to advance to the next round. The Blackhawks were in danger of going down 3-0 when they won in Chicago and the team did not allow the Blues to win again after going up 2-0 and now St. Louis has had yet another playoffs collapse after they did it against the Kings.
The Blackhawks now are one of the hottest teams in the playoffs and after battling one division rival all season in the Blues, the team could have another in the next round, as they will play against the Minnesota Wild or the Colorado Avalanche depending on who advances. The teams then have the other side of the bracket to play out, as the Anaheim Ducks and Stars are in a series, as are the San Jose Sharks and LA Kings and now that series is 3-2 after the Sharks went up 3-0 on LA.
The Bruins lost the opening game to the Red Wings and then won four games in a row to advance and they once again are looking very strong. The Bruins and Canadiens will play after Montreal was the first team to advance after sweeping the Tampa Bay Lightning and that series was not even close, as the Lightning were without starting goalie Ben Bishop and now an Original Six matchup will be going down in the next round.
The Rangers and Flyers are into Game 6 and so are the Pittsburgh Penguins and Columbus Blue Jackets and that series has been tougher than anyone thought as well. The Penguins are up 3-2 in that series and NY is up in theirs and that could mean back to back games with Game 7 coming on Wednesday if the Rangers can't win in Philly. The east has some tough matchups coming for the rest of the playoffs, while the Blackhawks now can rest and wait for the other series in the west to finish up.
